Does Your Front Door Make the Right Impression on Potential Home Buyers?

No matter how beautiful your home is, the condition of your front entry sets the tone for the rest of the showing.  What impression does your home’s entry make?  Do you think it might have an effect on your home’s sale? 

Is your front door in great shape or does it need a fresh coat of paint to brighten it up?  Does the door open and shut easily or does it stick/rub?  Do the keys lock and unlock easily?  You would be surprised how difficult it can be to get into a home when the hardware doesn’t work properly. 

To open the door, does it require a confusing set of instructions?   Insert key… pull door … jiggle key slightly to the left … pull door again (only harder) … a quick hard turn of the key to the right followed by a stern kick and bam, you’re in!   That was easy.

Do you think your agent will understand that?  More importantly, do you think a buyer’s agent will understand?  How about skipping the instructions and get new hardware.

Remember, a welcoming entry helps set the tone for the rest of the house and you may never have a second chance to make a first impression.

Below are pictures of front doors that I took on my recent trip to New Orleans.  They are from some spectacular homes located in the Garden District of New Orleans.  Note: they aren’t to be used as examples of properly presented front doors.  I just liked them (click on photo to enlarge)